


It's a Bargain

by Nillegible



Series: Shikadai/Boruto works [2]
Category: Boruto: Naruto Next Generations
Genre: Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Physical Disability, Warning for a major character losing an arm and a leg
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-02
Updated: 2018-09-02
Packaged: 2019-07-06 00:11:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,160
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15874551
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nillegible/pseuds/Nillegible
Summary: Moegi-sensei is waiting for him outside the hospital room door, and she drops an arm across his shoulders when he comes out and says quietly, “Glad you’re okay, kid.” He pulls away from her after a moment, turning towards the Emergency Ward. “Boruto’s not there, you’ll have to head upstairs. He’s in Ward Three.”Ward Three was reconstruction. For shinobi so injured that some part of them has to be remade. He turns sharply to head for the stairs, walking quickly even though it's no use hurrying now. He hadn't gotten to Boruto when it mattered.(Near the end of Boruto: Naruto Next Generations Episode 47 (conclusion of the Byakuya arc), Boruto loses his footing and falls backward out of the still moving train. Shikadai feels very guilty about that. Boruto thinks it has worked out for the best because he can guilt trip Shikadai into a lot more burgers than the Nara had bargained for.)





	It's a Bargain

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, hi again. One more Boruto/Shikadai story, and again Shikadai is panicking because Boruto's hurt. I actually had three stories planned: one where Boruto dies, one where they think he died but he didn't, and one where he's hurt but it's fixable. This is that last one because I tried really hard but the angst was just not happening today, and I wasn't in the mood to force myself to cry over a story when it's a perfectly lovely Sunday. 
> 
> This story does have a main character who is badly injured and will be temporarily disabled. I hope that I've treated the topic sensibly and sensitively, but if anyone has ideas about how to change the tags or warnings to better reflect that, please let me know.

They don’t let him into the hospital room. Aunt Ino takes one look at him and leads him to a free medinin, “Shikadai why are you just standing here, you’re  _bleeding_. If your mother sees you…”

The ice shards, he remembers vaguely. His sleeves and hands are covered in blood but he’d forgotten about it, everything is just so dizzyingly bright, and loud. He flinches at the bright light from the healing jutsu, sits stiffly through the application of plasters to the smaller cuts on his face, and leaves the moment he’s allowed.

Aunt Ino is gone, but Moegi-sensei is waiting for him outside his door. He takes a step back, wondering if he’s going to be yelled at, but his sensei just drops an arm across his shoulders and says quietly, “Glad you’re okay, kid.”

He pulls away from her after a moment, turning towards the Emergency Ward. “Boruto’s not there, you’ll have to head upstairs. He’s in Ward Three.”

Ward Three was  _reconstruction._  For shinobi so injured that some part of them has to be remade. He turns sharply to head for the stairs, walking quickly even though he can hear sensei’s soft footsteps following him sedately.

It’s obvious when he reaches the right floor because there are ANBU guards off the stairwell. They look him over and then let him through without a word. Shikadai wonders if his father is also here, or if he’s returned to work.

Boruto’s mom is here, and Shino sensei. There’s a vacant chair beside them that he settles into. He rests his aching head in his hands and waits.

_“You don’t have to stick around with this good for nothing rule-breaker,” he’d said._

_“Shikadai, you always go by the book and never got involved. Yet here you are about to stick your nose in something that’s bound to become a drag. I can’t turn my back on something so fun!”_

Trust Boruto to make light of the moment, to not take the chance and leave. Could he even honestly say that he had given Boruto a choice? As though calling them  _rule-breakers_ would have given Boruto even the slightest pause.

New voices, he listens long enough to ascertain that no one’s providing any new information, just catching the newcomers up on what Shikadai already knows.

_Two Genin went after the Byakuya, Naruto brought them back. Uzumaki Boruto critically injured._

They keep their voices low, and while maybe it helps, maybe if they’d spoken louder his head would throb even more intensely, the words only make him wish he could throw up.

What had he been thinking? Why hadn’t he gone to get help the moment he’d seen through the gang’s plan? Why hadn’t he just sent Boruto for reinforcements while he continued to monitor the gang instead of engaging?

The worst thing about being a genius was that Shikadai knew exactly the answers to those questions. He had been thinking about his new friend, the quiet boy who played Shogi with him, a noble thief whose ideals had been unfairly convincing. He wasn’t usually one to go out of his way to help someone. But in Ryogi he had seen the potential for a truly incredible shinobi, someone who championed good causes because he was intrinsically kind, and not because he was taught it was good. Shikadai hadn’t wanted to watch that potential be wasted among the underhanded Byakuya chief.

Being the ‘rescuer,’ the person to see through the Byakuya’s strategy, identifying the genjutsu – it had given him a strangely heady feeling. It was  _rare_ for Shikadai to feel such a strong sense of purpose, and the strength to pursue it. Doing it for someone who refused to save themselves had felt worthwhile.

He shakes his head, it  _was_  worthwhile. Ryogi was alive and had escaped that bastard’s sick genjutsu. What had gone wrong was that he’d completely forgotten about Boruto’s well-being while he focussed on Ryogi.

He didn’t even know why Boruto had stayed to help. _“You can treat me to the next new burger they come out with!”_ he’d said cheerfully. And later, after literally having his back, he’d just said with that signature smug grin, “ _I’ll strike a bargain with you for that new burger, fries, and a juice!” A_ s though that was in any way worth it. He rubs his face, trying very hard not to make a noise. There’s something clenching in his chest, like a scream that’s curled up inside, too frightened to escape.

“Shikadai, are you alright?” he looks up to see his father sitting next to him. He’s not sure when Shino-sensei left that chair, or when his dad took it. There are a lot more people than had been there before; Sarada and Mitsuki are there, as is the Nanadaime. He’s leaning against the wall, his clothes still bloodstained. Shikadai has to look away once he catches a glimpse of the man’s face.

The worst thing, he knows, the part that he won’t be able to forgive himself for is how wrapped up he had been in his self-appointed quest. He’d released the genjutsu but he hadn’t turned to check on his teammate. He’d been too busy lecturing Ryogi, it had felt like  _winning,_ like advancing a pawn into a queen, letting Ryogi see the possibilities that were now open to him.

And that moment when he had turned around and there was no grinning blond Genin behind him. He’d understood what had happened instantly, and it had felt like being hit with a lightning jutsu, that moment when you can’t inhale because you don’t know how anymore.

He remembers sprinting for the front of the car, where Gekko had separated them from the rest of the train, that frantic moment before he cleared the door, expecting-hoping-willing Boruto to be standing down there, on the tracks, disappointed that they hadn’t recovered the gauntlet. His heart thudding when he doesn’t see him and he jumps down, turns, because he knew, couldn’t lie anymore and pretend he was alright, to see the slight figure of his friend lying below the car, to one side, up against one set of wheels.

Shikadai remembers screaming. The thunder train car, too heavy for him to move even with chakra, and Yin release, the space below it too narrow for him to crawl into to pull Boruto out. He’d run around to the side, hoping against hope that he would have space to pull Boruto out between the wheels.

Ryogi was with him by then, he thinks, offering to raise the car with his ice powers, but he’d snapped at him not to interfere, afraid that they’d end up crushing Boruto should the ice fail at a critical moment. He had climbed back into the train through a window, ignoring the sudden loud explosion that sounded then. He ripped some seats from the wall to clear space and set to the floor, trying to pry enough of it off that he’d be able to get to Boruto that way.

Shikadai hadn’t succeeded. Not two minutes later, Nanadaime-sama himself had appeared, burning orange with strange chakra, and dropping a trussed up Gekko to the ground in his haste to tear apart the steel Shikadai had only made a small opening in. No, he hadn’t gotten Boruto out but he’d  _seen_  him, the still unmoving body, covered with blood, the yellow hair and white shirt soaked with it and one of Ryogi’s ice daggers planted firmly in his chest.

Shikadai rubs his hands over his face, wishing he could rub away the images but only succeeding in rubbing the smell of the hospital grade antiseptic handwash he’d been given to wash the blood off all over his face adding to his headache.

He looks back up wearily when he hears a door open. Again, the people in the room have shifted, although his father’s tense form beside him and the Hokage slumped against a wall remain in place. Dr. Sakura is the one at the door. She gives his father an unreadable look, then calls Boruto’s parents inside the room with her. She had looked composed. Surely she would look upset if Boruto wasn’t going to make it? That meant he would be okay, right?

His father stands up the moment the door closes behind them.

“Come Shikadai, we are leaving,” he says. The room quiets even more than it had when Dr. Sakura appeared. Shikadai just looks up at his father in confusion. “Visiting hours are over.” He wasn’t wrong, but it was more than twenty minutes past that time, and none of the hospital staff had appeared to tell them to leave.

There’s no reason for him to suddenly- “No-” the words are cut off in his throat and he realizes with horror that his father is manipulating his shadow to silence him. That shouldn’t even be possible with the Shadow Imitation Technique.  _No Boruto is not dead, No!_ shrieks the silenced voice in his chest, a sharp throbbing pain that feels like the scream wants to tear out through his flesh now that his father has locked his throat.

He’s forced to his feet and led out, his father somehow making it look normal. Perhaps because Shikadai has lost the will to fight or break the control, only the spiraling thoughts of how it should be impossible, they must have misunderstood spinning through his head.

They’re not even halfway home when Father gets a text and he releases Shikadai. He has a hand under his chin tipping his head up and he says, “ _Boruto is not dying.”_ There’s something fierce in his green eyes, something dangerous, rarely seen in Nara Shikamaru’s face. It softens, a little, “Breathe child. He’s not going to die.”

“You, you said- I  _thought_.” He chokes the words out, while he's trying to take a breath in, in relief. For a few moments, he had feared the absolute worst.

"I'm sorry," his dad says. Shikadai looks back at him. Now that he's breathing, now that  _Boruto's not dead,_ he looks back up at his father. He looks guilty, but there's something worse than that. He's very upset about something. "What happened to Boruto?" he asks and his Father winces.

"I'll tell you when we get home." 

Shikadai takes two steps back, away from his father. What was he talking about? "Tell me now.  _Please_."

"Shikadai... It's entirely possible that Tsunade-sama can fix it," his father says.

"What did I do to him? Please don't keep this from me." Shikadai is thirty seconds away from shunshinning back to the hospital and breaking in to see for himself. 

"They had to amputate his right leg. Above the knee," he sounds exhausted.

" _Oh."_ The sound is involuntary, punched out of him as he realizes. His arrogance had led to a Konoha shinobi being permanently disabled. 

"He'll be okay. They can fix it, it will just take time."

"Why aren't you arresting me?" he asks instead, once the full ramifications sink in. He had disobeyed direct orders, incited a fellow genin to do the same, and caused a possibly fatal injury. If the Hokage had not appeared when he did, Boruto would have died there while Shikadai watched. 

"Don't be ridiculous," his father says, voice hoarse. He places a hand gently on Shikadai's shoulder and leads him home.

* * *

Boruto is only allowed visitors a full three days later. He gives his report to his father, Moegi sensei, and the Police chief. He’s both reprimanded and commended for his actions, and then suspended for two weeks. It’s almost a relief not to have missions for a while, Shikadai doesn’t want to think about his last one for a while.

Then there’s nothing to do but wait until they’re allowed to visit Boruto and Shikadai nearly vibrates out of his skin with nerves but manages to sit outside his hospital room while first Shino-sensei and Konohamaru-sensei meet Boruto. Then, finally, he’s allowed inside with Mitsuki.

Boruto’s left arm is in a sling, carefully bandaged up and strapped to his chest. His legs, leg at least, being below the covers, is not visible. Mitsuki drops into the nearest chair, but Shikadai bows to Boruto. “I am so, _so_ , sorry. I have no excuse for my actions that day, and it is terribly unfair that you are the one paying for my mistake.” -“Shikadai.”- “You could’ve just left, and I… I punched you, and you stayed, and then I didn’t even notice when you fell because I- _” “Shikadai!”_ he stops and looks up at Boruto. He’s staring at him with wide blue eyes, and he looks somewhat confused.

“Look, I don’t even know what you’re talking about. I wanted to help get the Scientific Ninja Tool back, remember? And I guess I punched you first, and you broke me out of that genjutsu, so that was fine. In fact, the way I see it, as long as you buy me that burger, juice, and fries, I’m not holding it against you. He raises an eyebrow and smirks. In fact, if you’re feeling _particularly_ guilty, you can buy me two. Granny Tsunade said that I’d have to eat a lot until my new arm settles.”

“New arm?” asks Mitsuki. “We were only informed that you had lost a leg.”

Boruto makes a face and jerks up the blankets covering his leg. “My leg’s just gone.” Boruto was wearing shorts so the stump of his leg, that stopped mid-thigh, was clearly visible. “My arm was a bit more-squished. There was less work so they did that one first. He pats the bandaged arm thoughtfully with his right. Aunt Sakura said it’s a bit like a mutant arm, there’s lots of bits that are still mine and lots that aren’t. She said they didn’t want to chop it all off because I’m still growing and this would work better, you know?”

Boruto looks back up at him, “Sit down! I’m not angry at you.” Shikadai does as he’s told, still not entirely over the fact that Boruto had lost a leg and parts of his arm as well. He’s sitting there, still cheerful, for all that he’s quite a bit paler than usual, and his hair has gone limp, pretending that this entire mess couldn’t have been prevented if Shikadai hadn’t been more careful.

“Did you know I’m off active duty until _forever?_ I need to first get my leg fixed, and hey, they’ll start to grow it in the lab next week, we can probably go see if we ask nicely enough. And then there’s special training with Kakashi-san and Gai-sensei, and if they clear me then Konohamaru sensei will test me again. If I pass, _then_ I get to be a ninja again.” Boruto slumps back against his pillows. “And until then, I have to work at the mission desk!” It’s the usual dramatics he’d expect of Boruto, except it’s a little bit subdued like he’s a bit too exhausted to put in all his effort.

“Konohamaru sensei said that we’ll be working with Moegi Sensei’s team until Shikadai’s suspension is over, and then he’ll figure out what to do with us,” Mitsuki says.

Boruto is pouting pretty severely, but it’s nothing like Shikadai had expected. “You’re suspended?”

“Of course, I’m suspended! You just… don’t care that my actions led to this?” he asks, to be certain. Boruto rolls his bright blue eyes. “ _My_ actions led to this because I didn’t dodge that flying icicle and then I slipped from the Boruto Stream backlash and fell off the train. He rubs his neck sheepishly. “I’m usually the Boruto who’s being launched so I miscalculated the strength of the backlash when I joined in with a Gale Palm.”

There’s a knock on the door and they’re ordered to say their goodbyes, the next visitors wanted a chance to see Boruto. He waves them out cheerfully, “See you guys later!”

It’s not a conscious decision, but Shikadai ends up following Mitsuki as he heads to a café. Sarada’s sitting at a table inside and she waves them over. “So how is he?”

“You didn’t want to visit?” asks Shikadai.

“My mom said that I can visit with her later today so that he can see other people during his visiting hours. He only gets two for the next few days.”

“He’s fine,” says Mitsuki. “He’s trying to be brave about it. but he’s worried.”

Sarada’s order, a milkshake, arrives, and Mitsuki orders one as well. Thinking about eating anything right now makes Shikadai feel vaguely queasy, so he says his goodbyes and quickly leaves the café.

He makes it home to the compound, but he bypasses the house and wanders into the backyard instead. He finds himself a lovely patch of grass, shaded from direct sunlight and quite comfortable looking and he flops down into it, grateful for the rest. His mind, unfortunately, takes much longer to relax, and he dozes off, still troubled by the events of the last few days, but he feels the detritus settling, knows that if he just keeps still then everything would eventually become clear.

* * *

If it had been anyone but Uzumaki Boruto, Shikadai is not sure they would have recovered so quickly. By the end of the week, Boruto is moving around by himself with a crutch, even with his other arm still bound.

Boruto sees Shikadai from where he’s sitting inside the burger shop when he walks by and quickly waves him over. He’s got a plate of fries and a burger already, but demands, “I got my old favorite to start with, so you can use this chance to get me their newest special, Shikadai!”

It’s not the sort of demand Shikadai can refuse, especially not now, so he grumbles assent and heads over to the counter to order the Tropical Spice Seafood Burger that’s been introduced this week. Just reading the name makes Shikadai feel a bit seasick, but he obligingly fetches Boruto the burger anyway.

“Sit, you can have some of my fries,” Boruto says, and Shikadai takes a seat next to Sarada, across from Boruto. Mitsuki has finished, and Sarada is eating fries, but Boruto is just starting on a second burger, so he’s not sure how long they’ll have to wait.

“Gah, it’s slipping!” Boruto hisses, and Mitsuki grabs the other side of the burger before the filling could spill out. Boruto eyes the burger accusingly. “How am I supposed to eat that?”

“I could help,” Mitsuki offers. For some reason, the idea of sitting here while Mitsuki slowly feeds Boruto a seafood burger is extremely annoying.

He goes back to the counter and requests toothpicks, which he brings to the table and uses to pin Boruto’s burger back together. Then he sits down and pretends not to notice that Sarada is giving him one of her trademarked creepy looks because if he does then he’ll want to run away.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading, I hope you liked it! Please leave a comment, and if anyone knows where I can fond more ShikaBoru stories, please let me know. I'm feeling more than a little desperate at the moment.


End file.
